Shop Products
Houzz Logo Print
mommabird_gw

Tote bags are taking over!

mommabird
15 years ago

I have "tote bags" for a lot of different activities and they are everywhere. I need to find a way to corral them all. I have my Cub Scout leaders bag, my pool bag, my embroidery bag, my Sunday school teacher supply bag, my Tae Kwon Do bag, and of course my purse and briefcase.

Purse and briefcase have a home in the study - I put them on my office chair after work every day. The other bags just sort of float around the house. Right now the pool bag is used daily, so it's on one of the unused dining room chairs (not the best place I know).

Any ideas? THANKS

Comments (10)

  • justgotabme
    15 years ago

    Do you have a coat closet close to the door you use most often? If so I'd think about adding hooks on the side or back wall. One for each bag.

  • pammyfay
    15 years ago

    Can you think of any reason why they all have to be kept in the house when you're not on the go with them? Do you drive? What if you kept them in the back seat of the car or the trunk in a milk crate? (or, I have one of those collapsible crates from the Container Store). I guess the pool bag would need to come in cuz you'd need to wash your suit and towel (um, I'm GUESSING here by pool you mean swimming and not billiards!), but the others just need to come in sporadically if you need to finish some work in them or replenish supplies.

    If you're not a driver, then I'd second justgotabme's idea!

  • Maura63
    15 years ago

    Can you dedicate a wall (in a mudroom, garage, laundry room) and put as many hooks as you have tote bags? (I'd even go as far as labeling the hooks so you can see at-a-glance which are missing.)

  • arizonarose
    15 years ago

    We have LOTS of tote bags also. I fold some of them up and keep them in a carry on bag. Others are hanging on ONE hanger in the guest bedroom closet. I think I'm going to start giving them away. Most of them are from local casino's and have advertizing etc on them. Maybe I'll start giving one to over night guests..

  • talley_sue_nyc
    15 years ago

    a coat tree?

    A hook on the back of the door for the ones in heavy rotation?

    Or a corner they all get dumped in?

    Or a rule that certain of them go on certain shelves (embroidery), and others are allowed to sit inside the front door (pool bag in the summer)?

    I like the last one best of all.

    Here's an organizing rule (or maybe it's part of my "reject stereotypes" one): Just because they are all tote bags does NOT mean they all need to be stored in the same place, or get the same treatment (hook vs. shelves).

    For TaeKwonDo and swimming pool: They have stuff that needs to be laundered; I stuck those Command hooks up in the bathroom (You could do laundry room, since I'm hoping you have one where I don't) to hang everything on; one hook fo reach component. And then when the TKD clothes come out of the dryer, they go in the tote back and you walk the tote bag out to the car, so it's ready for the next class.

    or, if you need to be able to check that you've got it before you walk out the door, maybe a Command Hook near the door somewhere?

    I'm a big fan lately of those removable Command hooks.
    --They go up really easily (no need to get out the drill),
    --they hold well enough (I always get a much bigger hook than I theoretically need),
    --they stay up (I've only had one break, and it was holding too much, and the plastic cracked, it didn't come off the wall), and
    --you can take them off if you change your mind.

  • sheriz6
    15 years ago

    I have a pool bag, a library book bag, and the usual pocketbook, and hang all three on the coat tree by the front door. This works especially well in warmer weather when there aren't many coats there.

    In the winter, it's just the book bag and purse, but sometimes I have to dig to find them. I also have an over-the-door four-hook rack inside the hallway coat closet where the (cleaned out) pool bag lives in the winter along with umbrellas and baseball caps.

    I love the idea of hooks for each bag, but I don't have a mudroom or a garage large enough to fit a car, but that's a different story *G*.

  • brugloverZ9
    15 years ago

    I know I posted this photo twice before in different posts, but this is working pretty well for me...a decorated box under a bookshelf...It seems if I make a dedicated spot for things...like totes or shoes, I am better at returning them to the spot than if I don't have a dedicated spot!

  • arizonarose
    15 years ago

    mommabird, I just realized you're talking about tote bags you are using...not just accumulated tote bags. DUH! I feel so dumb!

    The suggestions above are all good....especially the hooks for each bag.

    ::::feeling really stupid here::::

    arizonarose

  • pammyfay
    15 years ago

    I just came across this nifty looking thing on a website--an over-the-door purse holder. Wonder if this would work for you?

    Here is a link that might be useful: canvas bag holder at Whatever Works

  • mommabird
    Original Author
    15 years ago

    Thank you for the ideas! I think the bottom shelf idea would work best for us. No coat closet in our house plus the back door is 1/2 window so the over the door holder wouldn't work (but I love it!). I am going to clean off the bottom shelf of the dining room bookshelf and line up my tote bags.

    And yes, they are all full of stuff, they're not empty. I put empty ones on a shelf in my closet.

    The pool bag can be retired for the year - it's going to be too cold in Ohio from now until Labor Day. The boys are sad and so am I - I love the community of our neighborhood pool.